Trade Secret:Trade Me founder Sam Morgan, already one of the richest men in New Zealand, is getting another $14 million or so bonus from the success of his online auction site.
Fairfax Media said yesterday it paid an extra $45 million to the original Trade Me shareholders, after Trade Me made operating profits of $70 million this year, up 39 per cent.
Online Trade and auction site:The partners got another $4.8 million last year, after hitting profit targets set when the firm was sold in 2006, taking the total sale price to $750 million.
Mr Morgan was worth an estimated $260 million earlier this year. He is on a "no phone calls" holiday with his family in Germany and France for a couple of months after stepping down as chief executive of Trade Me this year.
Online Trade and auction site:When in Wellington, Mr Morgan spends about a day a week at Trade Me's offices, and he remains chairman of the Fairfax offshoot.
"Sam is in Europe visiting various places he hung out at as a teenage exchange student," Trade Me business manager Mike O'Donnell said.
Online Trade and auction site:Mr Morgan spends more time these days as an investor in early stage businesses through his company Jasmine and as a "social investor and philanthropist".
Online Trade and auction site:Some recent investments included business intelligence software company iVistra Technologies and a Wellington human resources software maker Sonar6. Mr Morgan is also a director and investor in Xero, an online accounting software firm, and is investing in a firm that makes low cost intravenous drips.
Online Trade and auction site:His father, investment adviser, travel writer and philanthropist Gareth Morgan, and his wife Joanne, will get just under 7 per cent of the bonus, and like the original payout, that will go into his charitable foundations.
Online Trade and auction site:Gareth Morgan said yesterday he was "travelling illegally in Transdneistr", a breakaway province of Moldova, after being told by police the border was closed.
Online Trade and auction site:"These cross-country [motor] bikes are great for those of you who like not doing what you're told," he said.
Online Trade and auction site:Mr Morgan has travelled widely by motorcycle around the world. His latest trip includes Iceland, the top of Norway and Russia.
As a UN Children's Fund ambassador, Mr Morgan will be in Romania today spending a day with Unicef on flood relief work.
Online Trade and auction site:Half a dozen directors of venture capital company Movac, which put in $75,000 to help get Trade Me going, became multimillionaires as a result of the sale to Fairfax and will share in the latest bonus, along with a group of other original investors.
